Red, White & Royal Blue’s Nicholas Galitzine Talks Prince Harry Comparisons

Adapted from the 2019 bestselling novel by Casey McQuiston, Amazon Prime Video’s Red, White & Royal Blue tells the story of a British prince (Nicholas Galitzine) and the U.S. President’s son (Taylor Zakhar Perez) who fall in love and attempt to keep their relationship a secret at all costs. Although the film’s source material is a work of fiction, some fans have been wondering if the character of Prince Henry, the spare to the British royal throne, is based on the real-life Prince Harry.

“Why is the blonde British prince from Red, White & Royal Blue so Prince Harry coded?” asked one curious fan following the rom-com’s debut. However, speaking to PEOPLE, Galitzine addressed any similarities between his character and the Duke of Sussex, revealing that Prince Henry is very much “his own entity.”

“I feel like, especially in the last five years, Prince Harry and Prince William have been so in the public eye. Harry, especially being this kind of rogue amongst these very uptight, duty-bound royals, is maybe a comparison people will make,” the actor explained, adding that his character is perhaps most similar to Prince William.

“I feel like Henry almost has more of William in some sense,” Galitzine continued. “For a large part of the story, duty comes first. This responsibility that has been bestowed upon him since childhood comes first and he can't put his love, who he really is, before that.”

Meanwhile, speaking back in 2019, Red, White & Royal Blue author McQuiston revealed whether or not the story had been inspired by any real-life royal figures. “Most of my characters are pulled from a mixture of my brain, people I know, people from history and tropes I love,” they explained, before describing themself as “more of a casual fan of the royal family” than some readers might expect.

“They have always been part of my pop culture landscape,” McQuiston added. “I remember my sister having pictures of Prince William on her bedroom door in high school, and I definitely woke up at the crack of dawn to watch both royal weddings ... My favorite royals would definitely have to be Duchess Meghan and Princess Diana.”